When I was making my first cage, my wife Cheryl came out to the shed and asked me what I was doing. I mumbled or grunted something about “building a snake cage” while trying to figure out some little detail or put in an annoying screw (not sure which one), to which she rolled her eyes and walked back into the house – I think shaking her head and possibly rolling her eyes.
Anyway, I wanted to make a nice cage. She had already made one, but it was too small because he had divided it into two sections by placing a wooden divider in the middle. He cut the cage in half and was low enough to the floor to prevent interaction while he left enough room to slide a heat mat under it. He covered about 1/2 to 2/3 of the cage on either side of the middle.
I decided to do it that way since it was cheaper than making two cages and the two boys’ pythons were still small, having just graduated from the plastic containers. (When I housed them in the plastic bins I used small terra cotta plant bases for their skins. I cut a bit off the side of the base for the entrance – this is a good tip for juveniles and young snakes or lizards)
I housed the two juvenile carpet pythons in that cage, one on each side, but as they grew I knew I needed to make another cage.
So I did some research and with a little help from pet stores and some research on the web I was able to come up with what I thought was a simple snake cage plan.
A snake cage design that:
– it was easy to do
– it was strong
– it looked good
– had appropriate thermal properties
– had easy access
– was lockable
– Kept up easily.
I guess I should go back a bit and tell you how I made the first snake cage. Having two juvenile snakes about to graduate from their little plastic cages meant he needed housing. I initially thought I had to make two snake cages with two sets of heat mats, thermostats (I know there are alternatives), lighting, and double the materials.
So I decided, after some diagrams and fiddling, to make a cage and split it in half. Still needed to heat both sides. I put a divider in the cage. It was low enough to the ground to prevent snakes from going under it, but high enough to allow the Flexiwatt heating pad to slide under it.
I also made the divider to fit the cage exactly, but it was only held in place with screws. These screws could be removed if you wanted to enlarge the cage and build a second cage.
I made several mistakes with this cage.
The front was glass but it was snug and didn’t slide or move. There were two hinged lids at the top, one for each side. Being inexperienced, it didn’t occur to me that yours was a bad design. I soon found out that it was. I should have made at least one door in the front, either sliding or hinged. The upper door was a good idea, but not alone.
I chose to make the door on my new cage a single swing door for a number of reasons.
First and foremost was ease. I didn’t have to slide the door open and get a reptile out the other end since snakes don’t get out of the cage very quickly. If you have dragons or playful reptiles, it is better to have one sliding door or two swing doors or alternatively a combination, i.e. a swing door at the front with a hinged roof on top. This allows easy access from above for retrieving reptiles and also easy access from the front for cleaning and accessories.
Swing doors are the easiest to make and the most forgiving of mistakes, especially those made of plexiglass. Glass swing doors and sliding doors require a little more effort and time. If you have limited space, a sliding door is much more satisfying. All of my rear cages have sliding doors, but that’s a personal choice.
Since I had carpet pythons, I didn’t need to have a UV light; You can usually use supplements to meet any additional dietary needs with snakes. If I had wanted to put a UV light for a lizard in the first reptile cage I made, I would have had some difficulty because the hinged roof and fixed front would have made the angle of access difficult when installing a light. He had effectively removed half the roof and could not easily access the rear of the cage roof. The light fixture should have been installed at the same stage as the half ceiling, something I didn’t think of at the time.
I also chose to make my own heat mats using Flexwatt. My first commercial mat was too hot and it bent one of my plastic cages and the wood it sat on. I had to throw it away. According to the instructions, it was supposed to be self-regulating and didn’t require a thermostat. It didn’t work. So I decided to make my own heat mat and hook it up to a thermostat. No problems so far and the results are much better.
To make the rug I drilled holes in the back of the snake cage and dismantled an old electrical cord. I attached a plug that I bought from hardware and attached it to one end and soldered the other ends to the mat. I wanted to use a detachable plug so I could run the cable through a small hole in the back of the cage. I wanted the hole to be small enough to prevent even small snakes from escaping.
The soldering was a bit difficult as the soldering iron had not been refurbished (I have since refurbished it and it works perfectly now – you can find out how to refurbish your soldering iron in my “How to Build Reptile Enclosures” book).
I also had to drill a small hole in the back of the cage for the thermostat probe, which sat on top of the heat mat. I attached the heat mat with some duct tape, but have since used double-sided tape or clear tape to hold it in better and longer.
You can lay the heat mat on the bottom and then lay a thin layer or something similar on top. I have yet to try this method. I have even seen snake cages where tiles were glued on and placed on the heat mat, after applying a layer of glue or similar substance. Now I use cheap vinyl over the heat mat as it cleans up easily, and I have newspaper or other substrates on top of it again.
Melamine is also a good base as it is easily washable. Silicone should be placed around the edges to prevent water damage and joint leaks, but there is a trick to making a smooth silicone gasket.
Attaching the lights to the snake cage is relatively easy. I decided I would put an in-line switch on each light so I could control them from outside the cage without having to search for wire or a switch on a switch board. I have since automated all of this using timers.
I have a good variety of tools in my shed, but I didn’t really need a lot to make the cages. I think for most people, cutting the wood square is one of the biggest problems. There are ways around this to make building the cage relatively easy (you can find them in the How to Build Reptile Enclosures book).
I searched around a lot in various cages, trying to determine the best material to build them. I built mine using MDF. I use it for various reasons.
– It has good thermal properties
– It’s easy to use
– Comes out well painted
– It is easy to sand
– Does not fasten easily
– Can work with relatively thin material (1/2″) so it’s not too heavy
You need to be a bit careful when cutting it and I would recommend wearing a mask. It can be very dusty.
You also have to be a little careful when putting in the screws. Put them too hard and you will damage the hole. They will not hold up properly.
I would not recommend making a cage for snakes or other reptiles out of pine or cedar. These materials can be dangerous to reptiles. A few pieces of pine for framing are fine, but not the entire cage.
Another good material is plywood. I don’t use it mainly because it can chip. However, it does look nice if you finish it with a wood finish and clear coat.
I also painted my cages (spray paint gives a nice finish). I let them dry for about a week before putting the animals in there. This is to ensure that the paint has time to cure and that the amount of vapor it releases has decreased enough that it is no longer a threat to snakes. You can stick your head in the cage after 4-5 days and smell the inside of the cage. When the smell of paint is almost gone, the snake or lizard cage is safe to place the animals.
After painting it’s just a matter of adding locks, door supports and accessories such as climbing branches, rocks, hides, water bowls, faux rock walls and whatever you fancy.
My children’s pythons, blue-tongued lizards and bearded dragon now live happily in their respective habitats.
Good luck.